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I was waiting in line today and saw the most peculiar thing happen. I was next in line so I couldn't help but scan the three people getting helped at the front desk. Time was ticking and I was eager to move on to my next errand. Normally I enjoy people watching. I check out shoes, clothes, hairstyles, etc. But today was different.

The couple at the far left counter caught my eye. The man and woman were probably in their mid twenties and were sort of scroungy looking ... like they maybe don't shower all the time and probably consider their "good" jeans the ones with the least amount of stains and holes. I wasn't even close to them but judging by the way they looked, I wouldn't be surprised if they smelled funky, too.To make matters worse, the guy's hand was down his pants while he was talking to the clerk. Mr. Dirty Twenty Something was leaning against the waist-high counter on his right forearm and with his left hand was scratching his ass. His hand went u…

I've stared blankly at the screen for a while now. I'm not sure where to begin. My heart feels so heavy in my chest.

This movie is but one example of the failures we have as a world culture. Soroya's life - her destroyed life - thankfully was shared with the world because of a journalist and an aunt's strength (and intelligence) to tell Soroya's story. But there are countless other lives that perished by our fellow humans ... and for what? For the sake of religion? For the sake of rumors? For the sake of our tainted vision of what's right?

Her sons stoned her. Her disgraceful husband stoned her. Her father stoned her. A village joined together to stone her. What does that teach generations to come?

Stoning, slavery, murder, rape ... if only that was something awful in our world's history that we evolved past. Why haven't we? In a world of inno…

It's as if the conversation of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is becoming a wicked never-ending cycle. Everyone has their opinions but I wonder how many of the people vocalizing opinions ever served in the military.

Hi, I served in the Army. Have you served in the Armed Forces?
No? Okay, then can you shhhhhh the opinion a bit about why being openly gay might provoke a heterosexual uprising and dismantle our operational capabilities.
I'm not sure why anyone cares if a guy likes a guy or if a girl likes a girl. I also cannot understand why "straight" men are so fearful of a gay person hitting on them. News flash: Gay men don't hit on everyone they see. I also doubt that a homosexual-hater would entice a homosexual to try to hit on them. Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they are interested in hitting on every single man in arm's reach. Honestly, don't flatter yourself - that's the bottom line.

I often wonder what brings someone to my blog, Tumblr or Flickr page and website.

Here is why my unintentional readers make me laugh. A couple of times a week, I check to see what areas of the world have visited my sites the most and what keyword searches my fellow internet explorers used to stumble across my pages.

My favorite keyword searches from this last few days: (in no particular order)

* Can you back out of the Peace Corps
* Swim club etiquette unwelcome guest
* Erectile dysfunction + blogspot
* Commentary iraq and e.e. cummings next to god
* Chemical suit female (there's always a TON of requests for that. I guess that's a popular fetish???)
* Interesting men

Thank you for making me giggle. You are welcome to leave me comments or request topics. I'd happily do my best to accommodate your feedback. And, on all my blogs, I do my best to link it to additional reference pages to make your internet searches a little more user friendly.

Embedded below is a clip from a failed attempt at humor by Karl Stefanovic during an interview with the Dalai Lama. I believe there really is an important lesson here to consider.

Humor is tough to achieve when crossing cultural and language barriers no matter how funny it seems for the person telling the joke. It's easy for the meaning or even subtle nuances to get lost in translation. Now, the worst part about it is having to explain the humor, which might end up coming across as more crass than comical.

We've all encountered those big-name agencies that somehow stay in business despite having the absolute worst customer service ... ever. Among my friends, we have often joked about higher-education customer service reps never having gone to college. Thankfully a few of the higher-education websites have improved a smidge by helping us avoid calling in and letting us navigate their webpage. Make no mistake, some of those pages must be designed to create as much frustration as calling and waiting on hold for 40 minutes. Who designs those HTML failed monstrocoties? Is that someone's?

I've been thinking about how much customer service impacts my life and how incredibly frustrating bad customer service can make an experience - ultimately tainting my vision of the entire company sometimes based on a few unnecessarily negative interactions.

The reps who pick up the phone with attitude, who disconnect callers, who keep people on hold for too long without picking up with a quick …

Period commercials. Erectile dysfunction. Depression medications with a charming side effect of depression, heart attack or suicide ... Yay!?

I love these commercials. They are so informative, educational and totally wonderful to watch in between shows with family and friends.

Can you smell the BS here? There is so much garbage advertisement that fills our world. Watching TV grants us a fair share of exposure to crap they don't want, don't want to hear about and don't want to waste time listening to. That's why it's always a nice change when companies try a different approach and SUCCEED! Kotex just launched the first tampon commercial I've ever seen and can tolerate. Not only that, but it's funny, which takes skill because at what point in time is having or talking about periods funny?

How many girls out there like getting their period? Anyone??? Anyone out there?
Okay, let's take it one step further.
How many viewers like when a tampon commerc…

What's with all the hype surrounding the Casey Anthony trial? I don't understand why there is attention given to this particular case when there are hundreds (if not more) of atrocities happening every single day. Is there nothing else valuable to discuss than this dysfunctional family? I truly hope most of us can agree that this trial - this particular trial - doesn't actually directly affect us. In fact, I'd venture to say that this trial has no bearing on many of our lives whatsoever. So, may I ask ... why do you care if she killed her child or not?

In our everyday lives, what makes us connect so deeply to news that has nothing to do with us? I'd take a leap of faith in assuming most Americans are bogged down with their own issues: work security, income, inflation, debt, family issues, gas prices, retirement funds, etc. So, can someone please explain why I should care or, better yet, why you care?

Recently I read an article in Marie Claire while waiting for an oil change at the local Jiffy Lube called "The Daughter of the Disappeared." Few things in life are better than a short (true) story. I have ventured into 500+ page books but I have to admit, the compressed version suits me just fine!

The story is absolutely remarkable and, to my dismay, is not fictional. Reading this might help you re-evaluate your life's problems. I know I did. How could I possibly complain about waiting for an oil change when the woman I was reading about was kidnapped at birth?

I cannot imagine the mental anguish Victoria Analía Donda (formerly known as Analía Azic) experienced upon finding out that she is a daughter of the "Disappeared." Her mother was imprisoned when she was pregnant and after giving birth was passed along for "adoption" by a family that never disclosed the truth.

First of all, I struggle to understand how any culture collectively eliminates a pe…